March 2025 Progress & Next Steps

Hello Everyone,

I hope this message finds you well. It's been a few weeks since our last update, and I wanted to share some exciting progress and let you know what's next.

Where We Are Now

 First Merchant Cohort: We've successfully onboarded our first group of sellers! Not without a few bugs, these pioneering businesses are helping us refine our onboarding experience and platform functionality.

 Expansion Underway: We're now preparing for our next merchant waves, targeting Etsy, Squarespace, and WooCommerce sellers. Each integration brings us closer to representing the full diversity of Canadian small businesses.

 Team Building: Our interviews for key positions are progressing well. We're focused on bringing in talent who share our vision for supporting Canadian businesses during this critical market transition.

 Funding Progress: Our conversations with investors continue to move forward. There's strong recognition of the urgent market need for Canadians to support one another.

Launch Progress

We're moving at full speed toward launch, prioritizing quality and merchant readiness above all else. Rather than rushing to meet an arbitrary deadline (or ever-changing policy date), we're focusing on ensuring the platform delivers meaningful value from day one.

The technical infrastructure is coming together, and our primary focus now is completing our initial merchant onboarding to create the best possible experience for early users. You'll be the first to know when we're ready to open the doors!

Help Shape What We're Building

We've had a lot of people reach out looking to help in any way they can. Here's a simple way to make a real difference:

Join Our Test-Shopper Program

Here's how it works:

• Share our customer waitlist with 5 friends who care about supporting Canadian businesses
• Once 5 people sign up through your link, you'll receive an invite to our beta testing program
• As a beta tester, you'll get to test-shop the site and provide direct feedback and help shape the platform with us on live calls

This is not required - just a way for passionate community members to be part of building something meaningful for Canadian small businesses from the ground up.

Other Roles

We're also looking for strategic advisors in PR, brand building, and operations. If you or someone in your network could help accelerate our mission, please reach out to val@commongoods.ca

Investment Update

Many of you have asked about investing in Common Goods. While our mission does not align with traditional venture capital, we've decided to open a small angel round for members of our community.

We're also open to exploring strategic partnerships with angels who can add significant value beyond capital.

If you're interested in learning more:

Thank You

This wouldn't be possible without your support. Every share, every brand recommendation, every piece of feedback helps build something that Canadian brands and shoppers desperately need.

Speaking of recommendations - if you have a feature request for the site, please add it to our Suggestion Box.

More updates coming soon,

Val Crisp
Founder, Common Goods

Follow us on Instagram | Threads | TikTok For questions about how our initial marketplace will work, our values & more - visit our FAQ.